shoots 1 of 2

present tense third-person singular of shoot
1
2
as in blasts
to cause a weapon to release a missile with great force soldiers train extensively to learn to shoot accurately and quickly

Synonyms & Similar Words

3
4
5
as in photographs
to take a photograph of shooting the lakeside scene while the light lasted

Synonyms & Similar Words

6
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9

shoots

2 of 2

noun

plural of shoot

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shoots
Verb
There’s a park about a 15-minute walk away where Espinoza shoots hoops. Will Carless, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025 That said, because the Sasquatch shoots at a whopping 6 x 17 aspect ratio, a standard roll of 120 film – which would ordinarily be good for around a dozen exposures – will only get you four shots … so plan them carefully. New Atlas, 2 Sep. 2025 That said, the wider, and more interesting gap between the two can be seen in potential assists, defined at NBA Stats as any pass to a teammate who shoots within one dribble of receiving the ball, and assist points created, meaning points created by a player or team through their assists. Joel Rush, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025 Without notice or a countdown, the shooters open fire, and each of them shoots a single round at the target. Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 2 Sep. 2025 Elba’s character then shoots some hoops and shares how sports have changed his life. Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2025 Eventually enough new magma accumulates to force the degassed magma off, and the magma shoots out like a Champagne bottle that was shaken before the cork was popped. CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025 Jacob Ondrejka of Parma Calcio shoots the ball during the Serie A match between Atalanta and Parma at Gewiss Stadium on May 25, 2025 in Bergamo, Italy. Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025 What stops him is Abigail and Alex's daughter, Sylvie (Isobel Akuwudike), who shoots and kills Shagan. Randall Colburn, EW.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Noun
But after weeks of staring at bare ground, a few green shoots pushed through the dark silt. Lila Hempel-Edgers, Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2025 Battery life has been improved for longer shoots, and slow-motion capture makes highlights feel cinematic. PC Magazine, 2 Sep. 2025 Dort, whose power is setting fire through his fingertips, shoots flame at the bird, which is manipulated by Davinci magic and designed to fly through the sky. Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025 Kill the weaker weeds so the stronger shoots survive! Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2025 In episode nine, billionaire Leon Prater (Peter Dinklage) shoots and kills Batista after failing to compel Dexter to do the deed himself. Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025 Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty shoots while defended by Aneesah Morrow of the Connecticut Sun during the first half at Barclays Center on August 25, 2025, in New York City. Devin Robertson, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025 Once the fires have swept through, the chimpanzees have their pick of cooked critters on a charred landscape cleared of predators, just like the baboons in the forests of Uganda who have been seen foraging for cooked grasshoppers and shoots after fire passes by. Peter Brannen, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025 Planning your shoots around the new moon will give you a good few days each month to capture the faint glow of the core. Harry Bennett, Space.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoots
Verb
  • Whether the Supreme Court fires this blast or not, Republicans need to be aware that breaking up majority-minority districts, and dispersing those voters into neighboring districts to dilute their voting power, may well make those neighboring districts less safe for Republican incumbents.
    Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Ukraine fires roughly 5,000 155 mm shells every day, for an average of 2 million per month, according to Forbes.
    Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Still, Smollett maintains his innocence and blasts the police as fabricators.
    Erin Jensen, USA Today, 23 Aug. 2025
  • The Tortured Poets Department Returns to Two Charts The Tortured Poets Department blasts onto both the Official Album Sales and Official Physical Albums charts.
    Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Flare pops up as a soft white glow, and the lens also shows some purple and green ghosts, depending on the angle and intensity of the backlight.
    PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Mick Jagger pops up and lends a few thoughts.
    Caleb Hammond, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Perhaps that is what rushes in to fill the vacuum where Meursault’s morality ought to be.
    Jessica Kiang, Variety, 2 Sep. 2025
  • But while the new movie dawdles on its way to Toxie’s origins, then rushes toward a finale with a lurching rhythm that verges on calculated ineptitude, its spirit never feels inauthentic.
    Alison Willmore, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Nelson photographs Volcano Bay, a water park in Orlando that’s built around a two-hundred-foot-tall model of Krakatau, and the Longleat safari park, west of London, which offers close encounters with animals usually found in Africa, South America, and Australia.
    Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • But the stark, brooding palette of Tortured Poets casts an unforgiving light on some of the least consistent writing of her career.
    Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2025
  • The stages of the eclipse include penumbral and umbral phases, which refer to the two main parts of the shadow that the moon casts.
    Melina Khan, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Joe shouts as the snarling lobos close in.
    Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Kylie, 33, shouts in the background, trying to prevent an accident.
    Georgia Slater, People.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • The device sends signals around the clock in someone who has Parkinson’s, but Shirvalkar thought a constant signal wouldn’t work for chronic pain because the brain can become acclimated to the impulses and essentially override them.
    Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2025
  • However, the message that this deflection sends, even if unintentionally, is that your partner is really the one to blame.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Shoots.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoots. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

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